Costs of food safety proposals causing concern

AKRON -- Some farmers and state agriculture officials are concerned over costs of proposed federal rules aimed at making the nation's food system safer.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports reports the proposals are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act approved in 2011. The legislation is intended to make the nation's food system safer by pinpointing where contamination occurs.
Officials are still working out how to implement the law.

But a northeast Ohio farmer says he has stopped growing vegetables for local consumption because the rules would cost too much.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture's deputy director says the rules haven't been finalized and public comment is still being accepted. But she has concerns over how Ohio would pay for enforcing the rules as currently proposed.